Lebanese cook over wood as high gas prices persist

Rodayna Raydan

Jul 9, 2022

TOPSHOT - Lebanese wait to fill their gas cylinders in the southern city of Sidon amidst a deepening economic crisis, on August 10, 2021 - Lebanese lined up in long queues to stock up on cooking gas following warnings of imminent shortages, as an economic crisis eats away at supplies of basic imports.Lebanon, grappling with an economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worse since the mid-19th century, has been hit in recent months by a wave of shortages of basic items from medicine to — Lebanese wait to fill their gas cylinders in the southern city of Sidon amidst a deepening economic crisis, on Aug.10, 2021. — MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

As a mother of six children, Um Rami Farahat, who lives in a remote village in Bekaa, told Al-Monitor how she switched from a gas cooker to a wood stove to save money.

“We use it to cook and heat food, to heat water for baths, and even to wash clothes manually,” Farahat said. “It is located in the corner of our land adjacent to our house.” Um Rami prepares the dough for bread in the evening and wakes up at dawn to bake it in the more affordable wood stove.